The summer of 2026, and what actually happened at each of them

Today is the last day of UNTOLD, which makes it a reasonable moment to look at the whole European summer and ask a simple question about each one: did it happen, and was it what people expected.

The answers are less obvious than they should be.

UNTOLD, Cluj, 6 to 9 August

The eleventh edition, run under the name UNTOLD ONE, at Cluj Arena. Four nights, gates at 16:00, a pass good until five in the morning. It finishes today.

It is the one festival on this list we have been inside with a camera, in 2025, and the full practical record of this year is on the UNTOLD 2026 page.

Tomorrowland, Boom, 17 to 19 and 24 to 26 July

Two weekends, the same build twice, at De Schorre. It ran as expected and the festival's own site has already moved on to a closing message.

The interesting part is what comes next. It has not announced 2027, and the dates being published elsewhere for 2027 are last year's, which you can prove with a calendar. That is its own piece: the dates being published for Tomorrowland 2027 are last year's.

Electric Castle, Bontida, 16 to 19 July

The twelfth edition, in the grounds of a ruined baroque castle half an hour from Cluj. Opened at two on the Thursday, ran until eight on the Monday morning. The practical page is here, and the thing that catches first timers is still the travel, because the festival itself tells you not to drive.

Sziget, Budapest, 11 to 15 August

Still to come. It opens in two days, on an island in the Danube, Tuesday to Saturday, with the campsite open until midday on the 16th. The page is here.

Glastonbury, Worthy Farm, did not happen

Not cancelled. A fallow year, planned, which the festival takes roughly every five years so the farm and the village get a rest. They have already published the next one: 23 to 27 June 2027, with ticket information promised for autumn 2026. The page is here.

EXIT, Novi Sad, not at the fortress

For twenty five years EXIT meant Petrovaradin Fortress. This year the festival's own site shows no edition there, and a travelling programme of separate events in other countries instead. Reasons have been reported elsewhere and we could not confirm any from the festival, so we do not state one. The page is here.

What the season actually looked like

festival	when	what happened
Electric Castle	16 to 19 July	ran, twelfth edition
Tomorrowland	17 to 19 and 24 to 26 July	ran, two weekends, no 2027 dates yet
UNTOLD	6 to 9 August	running, finishes today
Sziget	11 to 15 August	still to come
Glastonbury	none	deliberate fallow year, next is June 2027
EXIT	none at the fortress	travelling programme instead

Two of the six biggest names in European festivals did not take place in their usual form this summer. One planned it years ago and told everybody. The other changed shape.

Neither fact is hard to find. Both festivals published it themselves. It just was not where anybody looked.